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IN THE WIND P38 NUZZOLILLI WINS PRO HILLCLIMB OPENER V inny Nuzzolilli won both the Un- limited and Extreme classes at round one of the AMA Pro Hillclimb Championship Series at the White Rose Motorcycle Club's Jefferson, Pennsylvania hill, Jun 2-3. Jay Sall- strom won the 450 Pro class. Bryan Rusnak, riding fifth in the order, was the first to top the hill in the 450 Pro class, posting a 12.084 E.T. Rookie Justin Hamp- ton posted a 13.616-second time, but was quickly bested by Joseph Lowe with a 12.172 E.T. 2017 Champion Sallstrom chopped more than three seconds off the leading time when he crested in just 8.729 seconds. The race was now for second place. John Koes- ter stopped the clock at 9.528 seconds for second place at the half. Jockamo Baldina wedged into third with an 11.214-second ride. Hill conditions deteriorated throughout the race due to in- creasingly heavy rains. Only Hamp- ton posted a time in the second half, and his was not enough to advance him on the leaderboard. The 450 Pro final was the same as the standings at the half: Sallstrom, Koester, Baldina. Cody Mason rode first and fast in the Xtreme class, posting a 9.580-second E.T. Deryk Beau- doin's 9.182-second ride put him in the lead. Koester crested in 9.491 seconds to edge out Cody Mason. Then came Nuzzolilli, who topped the hill in a blazing fast 8.743 seconds, moving to the front of the pack. Late in the order, Jack Ma- son posted an 8.756 E.T. to take over the number two spot, missing Nuzzolilli's time by just 0.013 of a second. In the second-half of the Xtreme class action, Nuzzolilli sat waiting for someone to challenge him, but it never happened. Owing to de- graded hill conditions, many riders chose to scratch their second at- tempt. The final was Nuzzolilli with the win, followed by Jack Mason and Beaudoin. Nuzzolilli's performance in the Unlimited class mirrored his Xtreme class performance—ride fast in the first half and sit out the second. He posted a 7.498-sec- ond E.T. as the first rider in the class. Koester followed with an 8.353-second ride. Phil Libhart bumped Koester to third with an 8.109 E.T. With the hill covered in deep mud, only Lowe chose to ride in the Unlimited class second half. He posted a time of 12.618 sec- onds, which was better than his first half ride, but not enough for the podium. Nuzzolilli took top hon- ors, followed in second by Libhart and third by Koester. Jeff Whitehead Unlimited 1. Vinny Nuzzolilli (Hon) 2. Phil Libhart (Tri) 3. John Koester (Hon) 4. Cory Strickler (Yam) 5. Jockamo Baldina (Hon) Xtreme 1. Vinny Nuzzolilli (Hon) 2. Jack Mason (Hon) 3. Deryk Beaudoin (Kaw) 4. Phil Libhart (Tri) 5. John Koester (Hon) 450 Pro 1. Jay Sallstrom (Yam) 2. John Koester (Hon) 3. Jockamo Baldina (Hon) 4. Bryan Rusnak (KTM) 5. Joseph Lowe (Kaw) PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF WHITEHEAD Vinny Nuzzolilli prepares for landing on the upper reaches of the Jefferson Hill in Pennsylvania. He won both the Unlimited and Xtreme classes on the day.